'It's still a bit of an issue for us': Rennie lashes out at Boks' scrum tactics
REACTION: All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie aired his frustration surrounding the Springboks’ scrum tactics following their 26-33 loss to the hosts in the second Test of the Greatest Rivalry series at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
The All Blacks were under the pump in the scrums for most of the contest in the first Test at Ellis Park last week.
Dave Rennie said in the build-up to the Cape Town clash that New Zealand sought clarity around some issues in the scrum department.
“We have spoken to World Rugby around a couple of issues from our point of view,” Rennie said ahead of the second Test.
Despite holding their own for most of the Cape Town Test at the set-piece, Rennie doubled down on his stance that there were still a few issues at scrum time he wasn’t happy with, especially after the arrival of replacements Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche on the 35-minute mark.
Continues below…
“The scrums were better tonight [Saturday],” Rennie said.
“I think Angus [Gardner] was pretty strong around setting a mark and trying to keep the hookers in the same sort of spacing.
“When the Springboks moved across further left, then he stopped them. We’ll get a bit of feedback around that; it’s still a bit of an issue for us.
“The Springboks were able to walk around and go straight through our tighthead [prop], so there are a couple of technical things that we’ll share again.
“But I thought in the end both teams were able to play off the scrums so I feel Angus did a reasonable job there.”
Continues below…
Despite not being entirely happy with the scrums, Rennie pinpointed other areas where things went wrong for his team and where they need to sharpen up ahead of the third Test at FNB Stadium next weekend.
“We were well aware of the quality of the team they selected. I’m really proud of the effort from our boys tonight; we were under the pump for a bit at various times, and we showed a lot of character and fight to stay in that game.
“We could’ve stolen a draw right at the end of the game. They started pretty well, but we left a couple of opportunities out on the park during the first half.
“Their carrying and cleaning…they spent a lot of time down at our end of the field. They also have a lot of their high balls stuff back.
“That was a big part of the game, and they were able to slow a bit of our ball down. We didn’t quite get the sort of continuity [on attack] we needed at times.
“We created a lot [of opportunities] tonight, and those are the elements we’ll need to be better in those areas, but we’ll bounce back next week.”
